This invention relates to the a powered three wheeled golf cart and more particularly to an improved, compact arrangement for such a cart and also to an improved driving arrangement for a cart of this type.
There are a variety of types of golf carts which can be utilized. The use of a powered cart has obvious advantages. However, powered carts in which the user rides in the cart are very bulky, expensive and have limited utility for most individuals. Therefore, it has been proposed to provide a smaller type of powered cart wherein the operator does not ride on the cart but merely walks beside its. However, the cart provides sufficient area to carry a number of golf bags and various golfing paraphernalia. In accordance with its compact nature, it is desirable to provide only three wheels for such carts so that the operator can easily steer the cart without the necessity of using a steering wheel.
In connection with said vehicles and particularly those only having three wheels, there are obvious concerns as to stability. That is, it is desirable so as to locate the major components of the vehicles so that the vehicle will be extremely stable. This has been very difficult to achieve with carts of this type in the past due to the layout of components.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved, compact and yet highly stable three wheeled golf cart.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a three wheeled golf cart that is designed to be operated by an operator walking adjacent the cart and which will have a high degree of stability.
In addition to the problems aforenoted, where the cart is provided with an internal combustion engine, some cooling system must be provided for the engine. It is, of course, desirable that the cart have a neat and compact appearance and this involves the use of providing exterior sheet metal so as to achieve this purpose. However, this is somewhat inconsistent with the cooling requirements.
It is, therefore, a further object of this invention to provide an improved compact three wheeled golf cart wherein the engine can be positioned in an area to achieve good stability and yet will be adequately cooled.
As a further problem in connection with this type of vehicle, the cart should be provided with a transmission system which will insure that the cart will continue to travel at the desired speed regardless of the terrain over which the vehicle is operated. That is, the operator should be able to preset a speed through a simple control and the vehicle should maintain this speed over all terrains. This can be achieved through the use of varying types of transmissions, however, those previously proposed for this purpose have been large, cumbersome and have prevented the use of the stable construction as desired.
It is, therefore, a still further object of the this invention to provide an improved transmission arrangement for a three wheeled golf cart.